The present invention relates to a device for transferring cigarettes from a twin rod cigarette-making machine to a filter fixing machine.
In twin rod cigarette-making machines, the two cigarette rods, once formed, are advanced parallel to one another along a normally horizontal, output bed. During their advance along the said bed the rods traverse a cutting station in which they are cut transversely into pieces of equal length which continue to advance in the same direction along the bed.
When filter cigarettes are made, the said pieces must be transferred from the said bed of the cigarette-making machine to a filter fitting machine the input station of which is normally constituted by a drum conveyor disposed with its axis in a position parallel to the rods and having axial external grooves which can each receive at least one cigarette. The above mentioned transfer operation could be easily performed by utilising known transfer devices which are normally used on single rod cigarette making machines, with each said device cooperating with a respective rod of the twin rod machine. However, such a solution would obviously involve the construction of relatively complex mechanical structures the use of which would result in high costs and low reliability.